Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq.
(San Francisco, CA, June 5, 2012)—Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied review by a larger panel of judges of that Court’s February 7, 2012 decision striking down Proposition 8 as unconstitutional. Proposition 8 is the 2008 measure that stripped same-sex couples of the right to marry in California. The Ninth Circuit’s February decision held that Proposition 8 violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution because it “serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”
Today’s denial means that Prop 8 supporters have 90 days to ask the United States Supreme Court to review the case.
Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, Esq.:
“Today’s refusal by the Ninth Circuit to grant further review is a testament to the meticulous and well-reasoned opinion originally issued by the Court. While the supporters of Proposition 8 will now seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court, there is no doubt that they are on the wrong side of history. Excluding same-sex couples from the right to marry runs counter to our highest ideals of equality and fairness.”
The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.
www.NCLRights.org .